How to Rear UK PRIVET HAWK MOTH Caterpillars from Eggs to Pupae - with Leon Hills - LEON CREATOR
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Жыл бұрынI give lots of tips & show all the stages of how to rear/raise Privet Hawk Moth Caterpillars from eggs to pupae/chrysalis. This is a huge species of moth - the largest native UK species. It has caterpillars to match!!! They grow so fast, doubling in size every couple of days & eating like there is no tomorrow. I love how massive they are but also their vivid colours & the fact that most people have no idea that they can be found in the UK. At the end of this process, when the caterpillars were almost fully grown, they were eating around a bin bag full of privet every day! This is definitely something I can recommend for others to have a go at - it is such a great fun experience & can help our native species of UK Hawk moths - each of which is spectacular in different ways. I have reared Privet, Eyed, Lime, Elephant, Convolvulus, Pine & Hummingbird Hawk Moth Caterpillars & have had just as much pleasure with each.
Books most useful for moth trapping identification & larvae rearing:
Moths of the British Isles - Bernard Skinner
Caterpillars of the British Isles - Jim Porter
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Leon Hills LEON CREATOR
#leonhills #leoncreator #UKwildlife #privethawkmoth #wildlife #UKnature #UKwildlife #mothtrapping #UKmoths #robinsonmothtrap #moth #caterpillarrearing #UKhawkmoths #robinsonmercuryvapourmothtrap #UKmothconservation
@Slawsers Жыл бұрын
So beautiful and huge species I always find the larger ones nicer for some reason
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Agreed! I think it is simply because we can see them more clearly - & watch the leaves disappear more quickly! Hawk Moth caterpillars have had a place in my heart since I first saw them as a child - first in my pocketbook 'The Oxford Book of Insects', then even more when I saw them in real life!!! Thanks for leaving a comment & glad you enjoyed my video!
@pcer9973 3 ай бұрын
Such a fantastic video man thank you
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 3 ай бұрын
Thank you! Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@user-xm2rw2jb1z 9 ай бұрын
This is extremely interesting and informative. Thank you so much for this. I've just found a Privet Hawk moth caterpillar on the ground and popped him under a leaf for safety but an hour later there he was again so I brought him in to take a closer look. I think I'll try overwintering him with all your tips and good advice.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 8 ай бұрын
Yes, he or she should be pupating if they haven't already. You will want to put the pupa somewhere cold over the winter & then hatch it out next spring. Best of luck with it & thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@user-xm2rw2jb1z 8 ай бұрын
Thank you, he (or she😊) is under the soil. I took a little peek and he warned me off by wriggling. I returned soil and left him or her to hopefully continue to pupate; fingers crossed all is well 🤞
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 8 ай бұрын
Cool - best of luck hatching it out next year!@@user-xm2rw2jb1z
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
Great helpful video. Thanks! Best one I've seen on moths.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, thank you for leaving such a kind comment. I have all the pupae from these (apart from some larvae I sold at shows) & they over-wintered in my shed - there are around 70 of them & I am just eagerly waiting for them to hatch. Every warm day we have had recently I have gone out & checked. Will be amazing when they do & I will certainly do a video to show that! I will then have an interesting task trying to release them as far & wide as I can around the South of England. I hope to keep back a mated female & start the lifecycle again - it was such great fun last year & they are a truly impressive species. Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
@@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Thankyou for the reply. I really appreciate the amount of time it must have taken you to make this video. My cat Stanley bought a poplar moth to my patio four days ago. I named it Wilfred but it turned out to be a Winifred as after a day of tlc laid lots of eggs. Winifred has since recovered and flown off. I am now waiting for the eggs to hatch and hope I can do as good a job as you did raising the caterpillars. I look forward to your next video :)
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@blithespirit7839 Thanks again - when I was a little kid my parents bought me the 'Oxford Book of Insects' pocket edition. I would be fascinated by everything in it but I would re-read the section on hawk-moths because I loved caterpillars especially & the bigger the better! At the same age (I was at primary school) I was in the school field one lunchtime & was walking along the wire fence when I spotted two poplar hawk-moths mating. They were the first hawk-moths I ever saw in real life & I was blown away by them! I very slowly reached my tiny hand though the fence & managed to get them though without disturbing them (they remained joined). I took them to my teacher who seemed equally impressed by them & found me a nice ice cream tub to put them in so I could take them home & show my parents. One of my fondest childhood memories! You will have great fun rearing poplar hawkmoth caterpillars - I have done it many times & they are nice & chubby. Good luck & let me know how you get on with it, later in the season. I don't suppose you are lucky enough to have a poplar tree in your garden are you? I always remember how they used to 'sleeve' caterpillars on branches of their food plants at Worldwide Butterflies in Dorset - seemed like a really good way to do it!
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
Thats a lovely memory, thanks for sharing! They really are gorgeous moths. I have always loved moths and butterflies, ladybirds and junebugs so am looking forward to rearing these. I am not lucky enough to have a poplar in my garden so was starting to get stressed out about food supply as there are poplars dotted around the greenbelt of Cambridgeshire but can be difficult to access. Yesterday I was so happy to come across a plentiful goats willow tree nearby so problem solved 😊 taking lots of pictures so might put a video together.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@blithespirit7839 Excellent - if you get more into it in the future, I can recommend getting a Robinson Mercury Vapour Moth Trap. Mine was an initial expense of £350 but I use it many times each year & often take it with us when we go on holidays etc - such a good way to see a wide range of UK moths & certain beetles are attracted to the light too - moths fly in from miles around! You can simply release them all the next morning or keep back a few if you want to rear up some caterpillars.
@madmongoose13 11 күн бұрын
Only recently found your channel and love all your content! I recently acquired some Privet Hawk Pupae. Have replicated what you did here but wondered - where did you keep yours throughout the end of summer/early autumn? My shed gets roasting hot during the day and don't want to cook them!
@niklar55 Жыл бұрын
When I was around 6 years old, i found a caterpillar of the privet hawk moth, and took it home, fed it till it turned into a chrysalis, and then it eventually emerged as a moth. Kids don't do that sort of stuff these days!
@intercity_trainspotting 10 ай бұрын
I did and still do lol 😅
@niklar55 10 ай бұрын
They say, 'little boys don't grow up, they just grow bigger.' @@intercity_trainspotting
@thesilentmothtrapper4373 Ай бұрын
@@intercity_trainspotting same
@FilthyToes14267 Жыл бұрын
Just found a privet caterpillar that I believe was looking for a burrowing site. Have it in a 0lastic fishbowl with 2.5 inches of dry insect free soil and another 2 inches of dried Ash leaves. Is all this good? In the day I've had it it's back has become brown and it spends most of its time in the soil, should I expect it to need feeding or is it too close to pupation?
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, If its back has become brownish it will have stopped eating - it may be worth slightly dampening the soil (not saturated but enough for it to be able to make a hole to pupate in - they wriggle about & push the soil to make the hollow space, if the soil is too dry it just keeps falling in on them. Hope that helps & good luck with getting it to pupate - be patient, it can take a few days before it decides to do its final moult & then another day for the green looking pupa to harden & darken to a nice brown colour. Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@CompetitiveFishingFreak 10 ай бұрын
Hello from Roseville Michigan near Lake Saint Clair Detroit area,I rear monarch butterflies and black swallowtail butterflies, I'm expanding to the hummingbird hawk moth ❤️
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 10 ай бұрын
Hi thanks for your comment! It is great to hear from someone in the US - are monarchs native to your area? I love their caterpillars, in this country we feed them on milkweed - is that the same in the US? I don't know about black swallowtails, but I will certainly look them up now. I have reared a few hummingbird hawkmoth caterpillars that I found here in the UK on ladies bedstraw - I also get the moths visiting my fuchsia plant on sunny days. Beautiful species & I can understand why you would want to breed them! I saw some Spurge hawkmoth caterpillars at a show once, all over a large potted spurge plant - they are very vibrantly coloured & I have wanted to rear them ever since. They are not native to the UK but to most of the rest of Europe. Check out some of my other invert vids (or videos of my other exotic pets), if you get a chance. Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@jaynepeters1839 11 ай бұрын
Great video, i have just found my first halk moth and I'm looking forward to looking after it . How long is it until they hatch into moths ?
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 11 ай бұрын
Hi, thanks for your comment! If you have found a caterpillar & you live in the UK it depends on the species. If it was feeding on Privet or Lilac, it will likely be a Privet Hawk Moth & will soon be looking to pupate. Once it is a chrysalis/pupa it will overwinter & hatch into a moth next June or July to mate & lay eggs to start the lifecycle again. Other hawk moth species feed on other food-plants & hatch at different times. some are single-brooded & others may be double brooded (where they have two life-cycles per year before overwintering - still as a pupa). I hope that helps & that you do well with your caterpillar. They really are great fun to rear up & all are impressive species. Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@moyajanko6642 10 ай бұрын
Leon, Leon, thank you SO much for this wonderful and very informative video. Last week, when uncovering some cyclamen corms in a pot, an enormous chrysalis dropped into my lap. As big as my little finger, chocolatey brown, I reckon it is a Privet Hawk Moth pupae. I have put it back into the compost where it came from, and the whole pot is now inside a collapsible insect rearing cage, mostly mesh. Am worried I have mis-identified it. What other beastie could it be? It looks the same as the ones at the end of your video. Many thanks.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 10 ай бұрын
Hi, If the Chrysalis is as big as you say, it is sure to be a Hawkmoth of some sort. The Caterpillars often wander around for quite some distance before digging down into the soil to pupate. Your best bet is to look out for it hatching next year when it will be easy to identify before releasing it. If you ever do identify it for certain, let me know what it was - I'd be interested to find out too! Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@moyajanko6642 10 ай бұрын
@@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills - Thank you Leon. I wanted to prepare for spring by buying privet plants etc. What do other Hawkmoth pupae look like? This one is dark brown with some very dark red/mahogany colouration.
@albertogarciasewjee4965 Жыл бұрын
Very informative video! What will you do when the moths emerge from their pupae, are you going to release them? Thanks!
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, thank you! Yes I will release them in various locations - probably 10 or so in each location to spread them around a bit. It will be great to know that I am helping the species in some small way. I keep hearing about people who have their privet hedges sprayed to kill off any 'pests' - personally, I would rather have an almost bare privet hedge covered in these amazing caterpillars! Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@albertogarciasewjee4965 Жыл бұрын
Great, thanks for helping conserve this beautiful species! It makes me very happy! Most people just prefer to have everything sterile, “perfect” and lifeless than to have it teaming with life. I’d also like to help conserve certain species, could you tell me when they lay their eggs? Papilio machaon: Graellsia isabellae: Sphinx ligustri: Saturnia pyri: Thank you so much in advance, and carry on the great work for nature!
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@albertogarciasewjee4965 Hi, no problem, I only rear S. ligustri from that list - the moths lay their eggs in June in the UK. Best of luck if you decide to rear some - it is really great fun!!!
@siobhanmurren7260 11 ай бұрын
Do they need soil to burrow in to pupate? Also, I've heard they like honey suckle leaves?
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 11 ай бұрын
Hi, Thanks for your comment! Yes they need soil to burrow into - it doesn't need to be too deep, a couple of inches is fine. Not sure on the Honey Suckle - I know they eat Lilac as another food-plant but I always think whatever you start them on when they first hatch out of eggs, is what you should stick with until they pupate. You will have far fewer problems if you stick to that simple rule. If you live in the UK I have some of these caterpillars for sale on eBay at the moment - my last 30 or so & they are getting big now! Thanks for your comment - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030 9 ай бұрын
stunning moths. would i be able to cohab these with d3aths head hawkmoths
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 8 ай бұрын
Hi, I don't see why you couldn't keep the caterpillars of both species at the same time - provided you started them both off on Privet that is. Best of luck with it & thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
Hello Leon,, I hope you had success in hatching your privet moths? The poplar catterpillers I have are doing very well, feeding off of grey willow and ranging in colour from a pale pear to cryptonite green and are from 15mm to 1 1/2'' . I keep the two smaller ones separately. If you could give me any tips on overwintering them and an idea of how long the poplar species take to fully grow I'd be ever so grateful.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, They are hatching at a rate of around 14 a day at the moment. I am taking various videos & will edit them all together for KZfaq fairly soon - I wanted to wait until the last ones had hatched so I can show all the empty pupae - I thought that could look quite cool! I have never seen so many Privet Hawk-moths in such a short period of time - I feel very responsible for them & it is quite overwhelming! When they all fly off, it is great to feel that you may have helped a species out a little bit. I also hadn't realised just how quickly they hatch from the pupae - I had them in my living room & heard a really loud cracking sound - I started filming immediately & three hatched at the same time - all were out within 15-20 seconds-ish. I will certainly add that footage to what I upload to KZfaq. I assumed they took ages to hatch like some Dragonfly nymphs. I have hatched so many Hawk-moths & other moth species in the past but I have always missed it - either they hatched at night or I was just unlucky enough to not be around at that particular moment! They seem to pump up their wings quickly to - 10 minutes or so - again much quicker than I thought. Anyway, hopefully I will get that video on some time next week - keep an eye out for it!
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
Ah that's great news! All of your hard work has paid off, and I look forward to seeing your next video. I feel totally responsible for these too and was saddened this morning to discover a rather large dehydrated caterpiller floppy and dangling from a stem. I have separated it from the others as I think it may have a bacterial or fungi infection. I have up graded their tank to a much larger one now and have taken lots of footage, so hope to upload a video myself. Some if them are very close to pupae stage so how would you reccomend keeping them when this happens? They are so precious to me now and I want to do everything correctly so they all survive.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@blithespirit7839 That's great news - I look forward to seeing your video if you do one! The main thing with the pupating is to give them time to pupate - sounds obvious but you will be so tempted to see if they have pupated, you may dig one up too early & disturb it. I opted for clear 'cricket/mealworm tubs' & tried to limit it to a few caterpillars per tub. You can sometimes see the oval gap through the bottom of the tub & be able to tell when they have pupated. Failing that, it is worth waiting a week or even two weeks after they bury down, before checking them - patience is necessary!
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
Thankyou! Could you tell me please what kind of earth to use for them to burrow into? Would shop bagged compost be acceptable? Can you spray them with tap water? Do I need to spray them over the winter? I was thinking of storing them in a plastic tub with a mesh lid in my shed when to time comes. Sorry for all the questions.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@blithespirit7839 I just used garden soil if I remember correctly - keep it natural. Overwinter in a shed is what I did - in a large tub of garden soil with the pupae laid on the top of the soil in rows. Have a tight fitting lid with a few air holes but not many. The thing most likely to kill pupae is probably dehydration - they will dry out if the soil completely dries out. Aim to keep the soil like it would be in your garden if you dug down a foot or so under turf - not soaking wet but not dry & dusty either! I checked on mine once a week or every other week over the winter - mainly to see that the soil hadn't dried out & to give them a good spray of bottled water. If the soil is deep the water drains through it to the bottom - then you don't end up with a puddle right on the top where the pupae are. I don't think they would drown if half immersed in water, but I didn't want to take that chance either!
@silverhairedsamurai27 Жыл бұрын
Is the soil necessary? I had some oleander hawkmoths few months ago and they just made a nest around them with the leaves i put. I have a young death’s head caterpillar now and i need to know about the soil before it pupates.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, I have done it just with leaves with Elephant Hawk Moths & they have pupated just fine. I had a problem once with a Privet Hawk Moth where I only gave it leaves & it crawled around for ages like it couldn't settle - when it got to the point where it had to stop crawling (because it had started to shrink ready to pupate) it shed its skin but did it badly. The skin remained half stuck on it & it was never able to hatch out into a moth. This could be due to a lack of humidity around the caterpillar or the caterpillar not being entirely comfortable about pupating in that spot. Anyway, I haven't risked using that method since. Although it was quite a bit of work to pupate all my Privet Hawk Moths, it was worth it as I think all but one pupated perfectly & the one that didn't looked a bit ropey anyway! If you only have one Death's Head, it is totally worth giving it some soil in a clear container - not too deep - so you may be able to see it through the bottom. Patience is the key to success - I thought mine would pupate overnight after shrinking, but some took almost a week. It is worth leaving it well alone for an entire week after it buries itself - that way the chrysalis will have totally hardened & you won't risk damaging it. Check out some of my other invert videos & reptiles, amphibians & Three-Banded Armadillo videos too, if you get a chance. Best of luck, Happy Christmas & thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@silverhairedsamurai27 Жыл бұрын
@@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Thank you for your quick response. I will do as your instructions and hope it will pupate successfully. This is the largest caterpillar I’ve seen in my life and i want it to be safe when it hatches into a moth. Thank You one’s again and wish you a Merry Christmas 🎄
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@silverhairedsamurai27 Yes, they really are impressive creatures - amazing how much food-plant they get through too! I heard the moths are quite cute because they make squeaking noises - apparently that is something to do with fooling bees into leaving them alone while they raid the bees nests for honey - pretty cool! Best of luck again - hope it hatches okay. Make sure you give it something it can climb up to dry its wings - plastic mesh is perfect.
@silverhairedsamurai27 Жыл бұрын
@@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Great news. I put some soil as you advised and it buried inside to pupate. And I found a second death’s head. Once again, thank you so much 😊
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@silverhairedsamurai27 Cool that you found an extra one - now you just have to hope they are male & female!!!
@Babadev03 Жыл бұрын
This is very interesting as I have seen these caterpillars on a Leburnham bush munching away and they are huge! My cat brought them to my attention and he also had a interest in them! As I didn't want them to die, I took them to the woods near by and put them on a holly bush, because I read that they liked holly! I am looking today as my cat brought an adult moth in to the garden and leaving it with him wasn't a good idea, so I have moved it into a plastic dish in semi darkness with some leburnham leaves to eat...I hope I am saving it's life! But you said that adults only live a week and so maybe it's time has come! I wondered if it needs any droplets of water, do you know please?😊
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, thanks for your comment - I have never heard of any hawk moth caterpillars feeding on laburnum - but last year I had a green elephant hawk moth caterpillar on my lily pads & I had never heard of that either! Whatever food-plant you find caterpillars on, you should try to stick with them only having that same plant - moving them to a new food-plant can often kill them. Yes, moths don't tend to live long in their adult form - it is really just to give them enough time to pair up/mate & then lay eggs. Releasing your moth is probably the best bet - so that it can lay eggs if it is a female & hasn't had a chance to already. Moths can be 'fed' on a 'nectar' solution made from boiling water, honey & golden syrup - mix it all together, allow the solution to cool & offer some on a teaspoon - the moth will uncurl its proboscis into the liquid & begin drinking. Failing this, you are better off just letting the moth find its own nectar in the wild from flowers. Hope that helps & good luck with your moth!
@Babadev03 Жыл бұрын
@@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills , Hi, Thank you for all this information. So the update is the moth was a female and she has presented me with 3 eggs to look after! She has died now unfortunately, so I will be looking at your video alot to see if I can rear these 3 caterpillars! Just want to ask you, do they eat any type of privit leaves please? My elderly neighbour has lots of hedges and she may allow me to have some of the leaves, but I don't know what type of privit bush leaves they eat! Please let me know soon. I think the eggs will hatch in about 9 days. Like you, I like to help wildlife and have always loved caterpillars! 😃🐛🐛🐛
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@Babadev03 Hi, If it was definitely a Privet hawk moth then just the common privet is ideal & easy to source. Give them fresh leaves every couple of days. If it was a different species of moth, you will need to identify it to find out what food-plant its caterpillars eat (because they are all very specific depending on the species). Best of luck with rearing some caterpillars - let me know how you get on!
@Babadev03 Жыл бұрын
@@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills , thank you for telling me about what privit hedge the caterpillars eat. Their mother was definitely a privit hawk moth. So I have 3 pale green eggs in a plastic container with no lid at present. I am going to have a go at saving them and when they are big enough put them in the woods near by on privit hedges. I don't mind the caterpillars but the moths make my flesh creep! I read somewhere that the caterpillars like to eat holly bushes too, is that right? Thank you so much for helping me. 😃👍
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@Babadev03 Hi, no stick with just privet - if you rear the caterpillars on privet & then release them, make sure you put them on a privet hedge somewhere - the bushier, the better because then they are less likely to be spotted by birds, other predators or people who may do them harm because they see them as a pest! When they first hatch they may eat their egg shell but then they start on the privet leaves almost immediately - young, small leaves are good to start with, or cut larger leaves with scissors along an edge to make it easier for the tiny caterpillars to eat. Best of luck - they are truly an impressive species!
@donteague614 Жыл бұрын
Have thought they had stingers.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, thanks for your comment! Yes, the tails do look sharp & pointed but they are completely harmless.
@Hellonline983 28 күн бұрын
is that bay leaf?
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 28 күн бұрын
Hi, thanks for your comment! No, it is Privet - one of the most common types of bush that we use for garden hedges here in the UK. Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@wullawulla54 Жыл бұрын
Could you tell us what we need to feed the moths on. One has just emerged from pupae that we purchased and we want to rear caterpillars but don't know what to feed the moth.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, thanks for your comment. I do the following: Boil half a mug of water. Add a tablespoon of honey Add a tablespoon of golden syrup Stir until everything has dissolved into the boiling water Allow the water to cool (!) This is a basic replacement for nectar - you can pour some into a very shallow lid (jam jar lid seems ideal). If you hold a moth & it is in a calm state, you can gently touch its curled proboscis to the liquid. If it notices, it should uncurl its proboscis into the jam jar lid & it will be obviously drinking. The mix will need to be changed every few days. Remember the moths only live for a week or two as adults, just enough time to mate & lay eggs. In captivity, even in soft mesh cages, they fly around at night & their wings deteriorate fairly quickly so they start to look bedraggled. The main aim is to try & get them paired up so they can lay their fertile eggs. If you think you have a lone female & it is looking like you won't hatch out a male in time, it is worth considering releasing her so she can pair up with a wild male - it would be a shame to waste her 100 or so eggs. I hope you manage to hatch out a pair & get them to mate & lay eggs. Adding some privet in with her, especially with a privet flower or two, helps persuade her to lay her eggs when the time comes. Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
@oneto5118 Ай бұрын
I deal with these pests every year they destroy my tomato, bell pepper and grape leaves . Its a battle . These things destroy vegetable gardens all over america .
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
Hi Leon I am pleased to say that I now have 70 odd poplar moth caterpillars that get bigger by the day. I was wondering given your experience - is it okay to feed them two different types of willow? Grey aswell as goats willow? Thanks! Rose
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
Hi, My usual rule is to stick to whatever I give them first & only use that throughout the whole rearing process. Others may have success alternating but I have also heard of people who have tried another food plant part way through & lost all their caterpillars - that has always been enough to scare me into not risking it!!! Someone told me at a show last year that he experimented with some caterpillars - he found there was a cut-off point for 'freshness' of leaves vs mortality of certain hawkmoth species. He said if you change your food plant for fresh daily, obviously you are fine. If you leave the plant in for two days you are fine but something can happen around the three or four day point where caterpillars can begin dying & it seems like there is no reason for it. Toxins building up in the leaves? He said it is obviously important to remove all of the previous 'old' leaves & not assume you have done enough just by putting the new leaves in. Great news that you have 70 poplar hawk moth caterpillars - they are such an impressive species. The red dots along their spiracles get more obvious as they grow & they just chubby up really nicely! Continued good luck with it all - the effort is high, but it is pretty quick & then you have 70 pupae instead - much easier to look after those!!!
@blithespirit7839 Жыл бұрын
Ah okay, I'm glad I asked you now. Never did i know how sensitive moths could be! I shall stick with grey willow in that case. I feel quite responsible for the little fellas and the last thing I want is to lose them all. I have been cleaning them out every other day to keep them happy :) thanks for all the advice.
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills Жыл бұрын
@@blithespirit7839 No problem whatsoever - glad to be of some use!
@user-cr9zh2vf7s 11 ай бұрын
Did you feed the moth?
@LeonCreatorwithLeonHills 11 ай бұрын
Hi, Thanks for your comment! Yes, the moths hatched out this season - the first moths I didn't notice had hatched for a couple of days so I fed them before releasing them. Food to give them energy to fly off & lay their eggs! I give them a mix of honey & golden syrup dissolved into warm water. The next moths that hatched I just released straight away so they didn't need feeding - they could find their own food from flowers in the wild & peoples gardens. Thanks for watching my channel - it is TRULY Appreciated!!!
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